NATCHITOCHES – Whether it has been on the court or adding to the vernacular within the Northwestern State men's basketball program, Justin Wilson has left an indelible mark in a short period of time.
 
Wilson, the Demons' lone senior, will be honored ahead of Monday's 6:30 p.m. regular-season home finale against Nicholls on ESPN+ as Northwestern State looks to continue to build momentum for the Southland Conference Tournament, which begins March 10 in Lake Charles.
 
"Me, personally, I feel like I'm just another guy," Wilson said. "My teammates and coaching staff say I'm a very impactful person and the glue to the team. Hearing that from them is special, because I try to stay humble."
 
A lanky 6-foot-9 forward, Wilson started his final Northwestern State homestand in fine fashion, tallying a career-high 24 points and grabbing a team-leading six rebounds while adding three steals for the second straight game. That type of performance falls in line with what Wilson has done in the 16 games of Southland Conference play.
 
Wilson is averaging 9.7 points per game and grabbing 5.3 rebounds per contest while blocking more than shot per game, answering the challenge laid down by the NSU coaching staff following NSU's non-conference slate. He is shooting 70.3 percent from the floor after setting career highs in field goals (10) and field goal attempts (15) against Lamar.
 
In NSU's 13 non-conference games, Wilson averaged 5.6 points and 3.5 rebounds per game while shooting 59.6 percent from the floor.
 
"What he has done in conference has been phenomenal," first-year head coach Rick Cabrera said. "I thought he had a bad non-conference to be honest with you. He'll tell you that. From the minute we first played Lamar (on Jan. 6) until now, he's been very consistent rebounding and even scoring in the post for us."
 
Wilson's impact, however, has gone deeper than his numbers even as they have trended upward on a nearly daily basis for the past two months.
 
Just as Wilson's fortunes have turned in Southland play, so has the Demons' performance. Entering the home finale with Nicholls (16-13, 11-5), the Demons (9-20, 7-9) have won seven of their past 14 conference games and have clinched a berth in the conference tournament.
 
"This season, we've had so much adversity from losing players to injuries and other things, to us not being ready," Wilson said. "We were all new. It's very difficult to jell with multiple people in such a short span."
 
That's where the Demons tapped into Wilson's "pop" – his preferred word for energy and enthusiasm.
 
"Justin's the heart of this program," Cabrera said. "There's not enough words for me to describe what he has brought since the minute he stepped on campus. His energy. His coachability. He's in the office every day. I'm gonna miss that kid."
 
For both Wilson and Cabrera, the finality of the former's career has been in view for much of the conference season. Following a recent game, Cabrera told the assembled media he knew Wilson had seven games remaining, and the coach planned to enjoy their time together.
 
Wilson has had a complicated relationship with basketball, seeing it enter and exit his life at different points. As his college career – and his lone season at Northwestern State – nears its end, he is dealing with a range of emotions.
 
"I never thought I'd get to this point," he said. "It's kind of scary, but it's also exciting. You're done with college. I always wanted to play college ball, and now it's over. The scary part is locking in so you can play professional ball."
 
For Cabrera, Wilson helped him navigate a scary part of his first season as a Division I head coach, something the coach alluded to following the Demons' Feb. 24 road win at Houston Christian.
 
"I told our guys after that game, 'These games are winding down, and you need to count your blessings,'" he said. "I pointed to Justin Wilson and said, 'He has three or four games left, plus the tournament, in his career.' I said, 'Play for that man. You know what he brings to this team. If he's not here on this team, keeping you guys together, we're not a very good conference basketball team.'
 
"I know those guys are going to play for him."